Shadows of the Sith
by Emperor K. Rool
Summary: Two years after Episode Three and fourteen years before his return in Rebels, former Sith Lord Darth Maul believes he may have found a pawn in his plan for revenge against Darth Sidious. Can Maul manipulate a Falleen prince with a grudge against Vader, or is he the one being manipulated by that Prince's niece? [MaulxSavan]
1. Chapter 1

AN: I haven't read _Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir_. I just read the outcome on Wookiepedia. This story is set about three years after _Episode III_ and twelve years before the _Star Wars Rebels_ episode"Twilight of the Apprentice". This story is mainly supposed to be the origin story of an original character I'm making for a crossover series. I draw heavily from the old EU in this story, but it's supposed to be set in the new canon timeline. Also "x" is pronounced "sh" in Faleen.

 _Vengeance…sweet savage liberating vengeance…_

Maul couldn't let himself give in to seemingly inevitable defeat or despair, so long as the possibility of vengeance remained. After all, he'd come back from the lowest possible point before. His lower torso and mind had been lost, but he'd survived. After his mother had healed his mind, he had become a greater power in the galaxy than ever.

Then he'd fallen again. His brother, Savage Oppress, killed by his former master; his mother, stabbed by General Grievous; the Shadow Collective which he had built, obliterated by the Confederacy of Independent Systems.

It was just like when he had been defeated by Kenobi: he'd lost everything but his life. That was all he had then, it was all he had now, but it would be enough. He just had to wait for the right opportunity.

 _No…_ Maul mused.

He still had his sanity in addition to his life. He was at considerably more of an advantage this time. And he had the most necessary skill that his former master had ever taught him: patience. He was still waiting for an opportunity to overthrow Sidious, but he'd already beaten Dooku and Greivous, simply by outlasting them. They were both dead now—their own fault for trusting Sidious in the first place. Dooku was as easy to replace as Maul had been, now that Sidious had a third apprentice, Darth Vader. Now that Sidious had succeeded in establishing a Galatic Empire, Vader could flaunt the title "Darth" openly. That was the future that once belonged to Maul.

The Nightbrother kicked the trash container next to him when he thought of Vader, but then he stopped himself. He only wanted revenge on Vader in as much as he was an apprentice to the Dark Lord of the Sith. It was the Master of the Sith, the beloved Emperor Palpatine, Darth Sidious, that was the true target of his rage.

The Sith no longer needed Maul? Fine. He no longer needed the Sith! The Sith had killed his family, so he no longer identified with them. All he wanted was vengeance on them. And the chance for vengeance would come, he just needed to be able to seize it.

That brought Maul to his present situation.

He stood in a small living room with black walls, a green floor, and a gray ceiling and a single chair. Maul wore a small chronometer and a holoprojector on his wrist, eliminating the need for further furniture. There were only two rooms in the building, a kitchen and a living room. Maul periodically ventured outside but never lingered long. An out-of-the-way building on an out-of-the-way planet.

Ord Sigatt was a mining planet in the Outer Rim. He'd come to the planet in Rook Kast's Gauntlet. He knew that letting her live would be too dangerous. Better that no one knew where he was. The vessel was safely hidden in canyon about twenty kilometers to the north.

Nothing in Maul's prior history had ever linked him to this planet. It was distant enough that Imperial control—Sith control—was weaker here, though not as weak as in Hutt Space—but close enough that major news reached it rapidly. He would occasionally visit local markets or bars, to see if anyone had heard rumors from the Core Worlds. Maul also avidly watched the state-run HoloNet News, both as his main source of information about the galaxy at large and as a second source to balance the more credible rumors against.

Rumors about the Emperor's intentions and plans had been rife since the Empire was inaugurated, but when something had some kind of parallel in Sidious's own propaganda machine—either an explicit confirmation or denial, or a suspicious omission—those were the things Maul was interested at the moment.

Maul was genuinely curious at first when there were rumors that Palpatine wanted to make the Queen Mother of the Hapes Consortium his Empress. While Maul knew that Sidious's only mistress was the Dark Side of the Force, such a move could have made sense politically. Hapes was a self-governing enclave that had never been part of the Republic and whose war fleets were formidable. If Sidious had gone that route he would have instantly created allies for Maul on Hapes. But nothing Sidious did ever confirmed or denied it. So Maul did not waste time with it. It was possible, but unlikely. The only reason he'd make a move on Hapes would be to annex it. If and when that happened, Maul would be ready.

Still, this was not a traditional empire. It was a Sith empire in everything but name. Sidious's heir and successor would likely not be a relative, but his Sith Apprentice, Darth Vader.

Maul's desire for vengeance was directed at Sidious himself, but if Vader ever inherited his mantle, he would become Maul's target by definition. Actually, if Maul succeeded in killing Sidious, killing Vader was an automatic post-requisite. There could be no more Sith Lords.

Maul did not often think about Vader, but when he did the question he pondered most often was _Where did this man come from?_ He apparently had been in some kind of accident as he need an entire suit for a life support system to help him breathe. Maul couldn't help but admire the way Vader turned a disability into an advantage. Everyone who had mentioned Vader described him as intimidating and always mentioned the dread they felt as they heard the artificial breathing, as it meant Vader approached.

Maul had been able to replace his own missing lower torso with cybernetic legs, but they did nothing to enhance his persona beyond what it had always been.

The chronometer on Maul's wrist chimed. It would soon be time for HNN's broadcast. Usually Maul heard nothing useful, but still that was his main source on Sidious's specific moves at the moment. For the general, he always meditated deeply in the Dark Side. Nothing major had stirred in Maul's awareness as of late, so it was a major shock when the image of the Human newscater said, "Has Darth Vader overreached himself? The Lord of the Sith is facing the full wrath of the Falleen people and the Emperor is not bailing him out."

Maul took a step backward and sat in his chair.

"Darth Vader had a personal bioweapons research facility on Falleen, located in the Principality of Ix. The facility was made entirely without the Emperor's authorization. Due to the lack of proper imperial oversight, one of the pathogens escaped. To prevent a planet wide outbreak of flesh eating bacteria, Vader ordered the local Imperial Navy ships to set fire to the affected area. The infection was contained, but there was massive loss of life including the prince and most of the royal house of Sizhran. The prince's son, Grand Duke Xizor, better known as the head of Xizor Transport Systems is still here on Coruscant, word about the tragedy reaching him only hours ago."

 _Xizor_ …That name Maul knew. He was one of Black Sun's nine vigos under Ziton Moj's leadership. Maul knew that Black Sun's power had been crippled at the second battle of Dathomir, and Ziton Moj died in mysterious circumstances not too long after that.

The Hologram widened to include Xizor as well as the human.

Maul studied Xizor. While he wore the traditional topknot ponytail, unlike most male Faleen, the new prince had no facial hair around his mouth, though he did have a lock on one of his cheeks. He wore thinner robes than Ziton Moj, and thus seemed less bulky. Still Maul knew from his time with Black Sun that the prince was a master of Teräs Käsi master arts.

Maul payed very close attention to what Xizor said.

"Thank you, Wilhuf. I'm still coming to grips with the tragedy myself. I still can't believe that has really happened," Xizor closed his eyes but did not alter his tone.

 _He knows how to avoid being read._

"I just finished speaking to Savan, my niece and closest surviving relative. The streets of my capital are in flames and hundres of thousands are dead. I understand that what the Imperial navy did was necessary to prevent further loss of life."

Xizor let genuine sadness appear on his green scaled face.

 _There must be a reason he's showing this._

So enough Xizor's quiet sadness gave way to venomus anger.

"What I don't understand is how Darth Vader had the lab on my homeworld without the Emperor's knowledge." His mood shifted again.

"When I was building my company on Coruscant, Chancellor Palpatine was one of my closest friends and mentors. As Emperor he has no subject more loyal than Sizhran Xizor, but Vader is a loose cannon!" Back to anger. "He has to be held to account for this travesty he has brought to my people!"

The anchor man thanked the prince for his time. Maul waited for news of Sidious's reaction and none came. He turned off the holoprojector and put his gloved hand to his jaw and thought.

Xizor had hid his feelings well, but Maul could gather this much: Xizor hated Vader as much as Maul hated Sidious. Maul could not tell if Xizor was truly as loyal to Sidious as he would have had the public believe—after all, everyone had to love the Emperor, especially if they were going to attack his second-in-command, but, Maul warned himself, Xizor's loyalty to Sidious might be genuine.

Maul could not count on Xizor as an ally in his long term goal to destroy the Sith—not yet at least—but his very apparent desire for revenge against Vader could be manipulated. Without Vader, Sidious would have to search for a fourth apprentice. During that time he would be off balance. Maul might not be a match for his former master with the force, but if the public perceived the emperor as a blundering old fool who could not control his own minions…this also revealed something else, Vader and Sidious either mistrusted each other or this was the same tactic Sidious had used when Dooku "defected" to Maul. If that were the case Xizor would be an enemy to both Sith Lords for their wanton destruction of his home. The safest scenario would be to play Xizor against Vader while undermining his trust in Sidious.

Then a memory came to Maul from one of his conversations with Ziton Moj. Xizor Transport Systems was a front for Black Sun. The Ziton Moj had described Xizor as someone who was very ambitious and determined to lead Black Sun should the opportunity arise.

Suddenly, Ziton Moj's death seemed less mysterious.

Maul cleared his mind of all other thoughts, focusing on Xizor. What the former Sith Lord felt could best be described as sensing the long tentacle of a many-armed giant dianoga stir the water of a narrow stream feeding a large lake where the beast lay hidden. This was the best analogy because Maul could sense an immense hunger for more power.

 _Hmm,_ Maul thought upon returning to normal awareness, _he does control Black Sun after all._

Xizor's "loyalty" to Sidious was based out of self-interest. If he thought he had a realistic chance of taking power from the old man without destroying himself in the process, he'd definitely take it.

Since Xizor was already at odds with Vader the necessary groundwork to turn him against Sidious was there as well. Since Xizor had had Palpatine as a benefactor for so long, and had experienced Black Sun's defeat at the hands of the Sith, he probably already knew of Sidious's double identity. This would make him suspicious of Maul's motives, but neither of them needed a friend. They both needed someone with a mutual obstacle.


	2. Chapter 2

The Falleen "language" here is really just ciphered Japanese using the Star Fox Adventures Saurian cipher. Thann Mithric is a force sensitive Falleen in Legends, but in this story he has no force ability.

Savan stared out of the open space between the waste high bronze enclosure and the walkway's ceiling. She was a proud figure, a Falleen aristocrat, tall, with the same topknot ponytail hairstyle common to Falleen of both genders, her robes fully exposing the scaled arches of her spine. The last fires of the containment efforts were dying down but they still brought considerable illumination to the charred wasteland that was once the capital of Ix.

Savan could see children crying by the dead bodies of parents or vice-versa.

 _Peasants_ , she thought neither condemning their out-pouring of grief nor shedding any of her own tears for them.

Their suffering mattered to her only in that they were her—or rather—her uncle's subjects, and their welfare reflected on their rulers. She was far too concerned with her own personal losses to care that much about the commoners one way or the other.

Her mother and father were gone forever. She had spoken with both of them only hours before. She remembered pain from when her great-grandmother had died and knew how debilitating it could be. It felt like her whole world had ended, and for months she was caught in whirlpool of despair that threatened to suck her under. It had sucked her under completely, mercilessly, about a year later, but it seemed that upon hitting rock bottom, she floated irresistibly back to the surface.

Now her whole world had ended, and the royal house could not afford for the heir presumptive to spend a year in mourning. She would fight grief through that most appealing alternative, anger. She was angry with Vader, for the loss of her family, angry with Palpatine for allowing Vader such freedom as to have a secret weapons lab in territory that belonged to a loyal subordinate. However self-interested her uncle's motives may have been, his record had given the Emperor nothing to complain about.

Of course the emperor was too powerful to take on—at least for the time being—but Vader... If only Savan had force potential, she would be the one choking his throat. Alas, force potential was one thing she did not have. She'd have to rely on strategy. Her uncle was the prince, and the underlord of Black Sun. He knew the situation on Coruscant better than she did. She'd follow his strategy, but expected to be apprised of it the moment he arrived.

She must behave as leader of House Sizhran until Uncle Xizor arrived. It finally registered with her, now that she had a moment of calm, that she was in fact a princess-in-waiting. All of her cousins were dead, and Uncle Xizor, a fan of short-term non-committal relationships, was not likely to produce an heir of his own, at least a legitimate one anyway. The future belonged entirely to Savan, provided today's atrocity was not allowed to repeat itself on Falleen again.

It was a future she would have to wait a long time for. Falleen began to age at an increasingly slow rate upon reaching adulthood. Their average lifespan was 250 years. Considering her uncle was only ninety-seven, and herself only forty, she was in for a long wait indeed.

Savan stopped herself. It was okay to turn to anger rather than sadness over what had happened, but she drew the line at turning her family's misfortune into a source of personal happiness. Her grandfather should still be prince, and if he was not stupid enough to bring most of the royal family to a public speech, he would still be prince.

 _Be angry with them for getting themselves killed, not happy that they opened the way to the throne for you._

Savan, like her uncle, belonged to a different, older, order of the aristocracy that saw the lives of the commoners as having less value than the lives of the nobles. It was such a waste…Grandfather dead because he was addressing the concerns of housing for the poor and brought most of the royal family along to create the illusion of widespread royal concern.

Things were much better under the feudal system. Everyone knew their place: the farmer and merchant _Deimad_ caste worked the land they lived on, the warrior _Rivo_ caste policed and administered the states, and the aristocratic _Biwo_ caste ruled as priest-kings with all the time necessary to study the arts and sciences at their disposal, because feeding and defending the people were the duties of the other castes. The system had only broken down after the Falleen had become a space faring race.

All though "fighting" was traditional below her cast, Savan had seen the practicality of such skills had entered Black Sun as junior member with her uncle's influence. It was an apparent contradiction in both her uncle's views on the place of the aristocracy and her own. They reconciled it by the simple fact that the galactic criminal underworld was the only way for Falleen nobles to exercise power off of their homeworld. The position of senator was too unstable: the planet could only have one, and no royal family ever maintained a monopoly.

Despite her knowledge of warrior ways, Savan's bloodline was pure to her cast, as the bloodline of the palace guard Thann Mithric was to his, unlike what had happened in some other states.

At that moment the door Savan had just exited slid open and Thann emerged. Bowing to one knee, he said, "My lady, the Prince wants you to contact him."

Savan paused for a minute, not realizing at first that "the Prince" meant her uncle, not her deceased grandfather.

"I will speak to him in my own chambers."

"As you wish, My lady."

Savan walked back through the door she had just exited. Walking through the throne room and turning through several series of doors brought her to her own room at the palace.

The solid blackish-brown wood floor contrasted with the purple wallpaper and the green circles and yellow triangles on it. She walked silently upon the creaky wooden floor an exercise that had helped her in numerous situations off-world in the past, when her uncle and superior in Black Sun needed her to gather intelligence or assassinate someone. She knew that as Grand Duchess she would probably have to leave Black Sun, at least until she had an heir or two and they were adults. The perseverance of the dynasty had to come before usefulness to the syndicate. The only way she could return sooner was if Uncle Xizor married and had a legitimate heir. Then she'd have to give up her dreams of ruling Ix. She knew she could give up Ix, if she could have Black Sun.

Savan silently made her way to the dark blue cushioned chair and light blue desk at the room's far end. She turned on the holoprojector to speak to her uncle, but Xizor was there to speak as her underlord and prince.

" _Eza-jumu,_ " She began, addressing her uncle by his relation and with the honorific for "master," but Xizor interrupted, "Not _eza_. _Tuamthei-jumu,_ Savan." The word that could mean either prince of Ix or underlord of Black Sun, or more likely in this case, both.

"Our dynasty took a heavy hit today. We are the only members of your grandfather's line left alive. You are naturally the Grand Duchess to my throne, however your security in that position is undermined by the tasks Black Sun requires of you. For the preservation of the dynasty, I'm relieving you of duty indefinitely."

Savan kept her mask of calm in place. She wanted to rule her state and Black Sun as her uncle now did. She let none of her resentment show, though.

"Very well, _Tuamthei-jumu."_

"I know this displeases you, Savan-sxud." Xizor's face softened as he used the affectionate honorific with Savan.

"Duty to the dynasty must come first," she parroted the phrase rather unconvincingly.

"Without _you,_ there is no dynasty!"

" _You_ are the head of House Sizhran, Uncle. I'm only your heir because you have no children of your own. You should marry and—"

"I'm the least eligible male on Falleen. Everyone expects a confrontation between Darth Vader and myself. And most of houses on this planet are my rivals. I've been reading the news. Most of Falleen blames this tragedy on my close association with the emperor! I'm not eligible!" Xizor responded angrily. He'd have genuine reason to doubt a wife's loyalty, and he already knew that no child of his own could measure up to the potential he'd already seen in his niece, much less his own.

"House Sizhran needs a new face, one not tarnished by association with Palpatine. I may lead our house today, but _you_ must be the future. Your connections with Black Sun are not as widely as mine."

"But the minute I marry we cease to be House Sizhran," Savan insisted. "This is Falleen, not Dathomir. Males dominate here."

"Then you should marry a male of lower status than yourself," Xizor said coolly.

"Do you mean a peasant or a warrior?" Savan fought back an urge to gag.

"If that is what it takes," Xizor said seriously.

Seeing Savan's reaction, Xizor went further.

"I would even see you with a disgraced male who has been castrated and needed to artificially provide a DNA sample, if that's what it took to make sure you were the one who the power and influence was coming from!"

Savan looked at her uncle with more disgust.

 _Hypocrite_.

His own reproductive system was an instrument of personal pleasure. Hers was an instrument of statecraft.

 _You won't win, Uncle. I'll make myself ineligible._ She fought back an urge to gag again, this time from her own machinations.

Xizor mistook the cause of her discomfort as something he had said.

He held out his palms and said, "What I said about a castrated male was naturally just for emphasis, Savan-sxud." His voice was trying to be reassuring. "We need not worry even worry about a pure-blooded peasant or warrior, just someone from the minor nobility."

Savan breathed easily. That would be much better…perhaps even acceptable, but Savan still had a bone to pick with her uncle for using her in this manner. She was still determined to rule both the state and the syndicate.

"I will be arriving on Falleen tomorrow, and maybe we can discuss possible suitors after you update me on affairs of state."

 _Possible suitors?_

She had agreed to those terms, but the fact that her body was a tool of state, even with the more palatable options, ran afoul of Savan. Still, things had been negotiated down to a point where they were bearable. Savan let that insult pass unnoticed.

"So, I shall look forward to seeing you tomorrow," her uncle ended warmly.

Savan got up and lazily walked to her bed, paying the creaking floor no mind. She let herself drop on the azure sheets as she thought about what was ahead of her.

She was in for a long wait, she had told herself that before. She had to accept that as the heir to house Sizhran and a female on Falleen that she was not free. Freedom would come when her uncle was dead, and—as she was fond of him—hopped that wouldn't be too soon. Then she would be the master of House Sizhran and could dispose of whatever consort figure was forced on her…by then Vader and Palpatine would both be dead by biology alone—if nothing could be arranged for them within the next few years. If Vader could be brought down, opinions of her uncle and her house on Falleen itself could begin to change. Her uncle knew best about politics in Palpatine's inner circle, which is why he should be in charge now. Savan's day would come though; she just needed to be patient.


	3. Chapter 3

Within moments of entering Falleen's atmosphere, Xizor's Luxury 3000 space yacht, _The Krayt_ , had landed on a level grassy plain outside the main city of Ix. Vader's lasers had managed to destroy the city's main spaceport. The palace itself was built in an age before space travel, so there was no place to land there.

 _Now that I'm prince, that will change._

Many nobles felt that their palaces were parts of their states's histories, so they should be modified to the least extent possible. Most Black Sun vigos were Falleen nobles, but few were heads of state.

 _House Sizhran_ _must be different._

If Xizor had anything to say about it, his house would operate on a galactic, not a planetary scale. He had helped the new emperor shred the last threads of independence on which Ziton Moj had held. He connected the dots between the Shadow Collective's demise and Vader's rise led him to realize that Palpatine had to be Darth Sidious. He made the foolish but necessary move of informing the emperor—in private of course—that he knew of his true identity. He immediately placated the Sith Lord by bowing to the floor, promising him his binding loyalty, offering Ziton Moj's head and offering his new master control of Black Sun itself when Ziton was gone. Naturally, the emperor, whose personage was the fount of justice in the new order could not run a criminal underworld, but Xizor could run it for him. The emperor had seen through Xizor's self-abasement, but realized that he was right. Sidious needed someone to control the criminal underworld for him while he controlled the legitimate government. The decision was risky, but it had proven worth it. Ziton was dead, and Xizor was one of the most influential beings in Sidious's empire. But what would happen if Sidious should cease to be the emperor? Xizor had never been on good working terms with Darth Vader, now that that monster had slaughtered his parents and siblings.

He had addressed his concerns about Vader to Sidious himself, only to find that a cyborg who could neither use force lightning or shield himself from it was not what Sidious was expecting when he first turned _Anakin Skywalker_ to the Dark Side. Xizor knew that Sidious now wanted a stronger apprentice, but the Dark Lord gave him a stern warning. Skywalker was all Sidious had at the moment; if Xizor moved against him now he did so at his own peril.

Xizor had to wait for now, but Vader could not survive for long. Xizor simply had to outlast him. The future was his.

It was with these confident thoughts that Xizor descended the ramp, and strode forward, only to stop when the bodyguard on his rear left howled out in pain.

Xizor and the remaining guards spun to see a Zabrak with infamous red-and-black tattoos holding a lightsaber whose red blade now protruded through the guard's belly.

Maul must have known that by killing one of Xizor's bodyguards right then and there he was betraying his own presence, but then again, Maul obviously wanted Xizor's attention. His next move confirmed as much.

"Milord, Prince," Maul said with a mock bow after turning his lightsaber off, and letting the guard fall to the ground, dead.

The remaining three guards all trained their blasters on Maul.

 _Oh, as if that would do any good,_ Xizor thought. Maul was no longer in Sidious's favor but Xizor couldn't count on his patron to save him here. He could give the Sith a good fight in personal combat, but knew he would probably loose. Spineless acquiescence would work until he knew what Maul wanted. Then he could manipulate him.

"Oh, no, Milord, Maul, the honor is entirely mine." Then, as an afterthought, he said, "Guards, at ease."

They promptly holstered their blasters.

"I assume you're not here to kill me?" Xizor asked, already knowing the answer.

"Hardly," Maul walked forward. "I'm here because we have a common enemy." Then, in mid-statement, Maul bowed his head. "My condolences."

Xizor's gazed hardened. He studied the physical lines of Maul's face to guage what his adversary/partner was thinking. The Sith Lord had just revealed that he needed Xizor's help, making the prince indispensable for the moment. That he so abruptly transitioned from his talk of a common enemy to mention Xizor's family tragedy suggested—

"What kind of quarrel would you have with Darth Vader? Sidious is the one who killed your mother and brother, ravaged your homeworld, and broke your Shadow Collective." Xizor flicked his ponytail. "Vader and Sidious are not on the best of terms these days. One of them has to go. Wouldn't that make Vader, _my_ enemy, your ally?"

Xizor thought he was on safe ground now, and he was, but "safe" was a very broad category.

Maul formed a vice with his fist and Xizor felt his trachea constrict. He had a few moments of relief while Maul was distracted, blocking blaster fire with his lightsaber and decapitating or impaling the remaining guards.

Maul turned his lightsaber off and used his force abilities to jerk Xizor's head to look at him. Xizor, on his knees, starred directly into Maul's eyes, knowing it was now the Zabrak's turn to study him.

"I have some questions for you, My Prince, and I want you to answer honestly." Maul squeezed his fist just slightly enough for Xizor to feel some pressure on his trachea.

"Bear in mind… _honestly_."

Xizor looked unwillingly into Maul's eyes.

"How do you know Vader has fallen out of Sidious's favour?"

Xizor answered in his most sycophantic voice possible, the one he'd used with Sidious before.

"Sidious originally saw Vader as someone who had the potential to one day replace him, but Vader's injuries, specifically the fact that both his hands are artificial, means he can't use or defend himself from force lightning. He's a pathetic place holder until Sidious can find a better apprentice…" Xizor, dropping the sycophant voice deliberately chose his next word to provoke an emotional response in Maul, "…again!"

* * *

The way that Xizor had enunciated again was smart, but Maul had a better grip on his emotions than that. He'd read the sings in the force and Xizor's eyes. The Falleen was either such a good liar that there was no way to determine the veracity of his statements, or he was indeed telling the truth. There was an ancient Sith technique for extracting memories, but Maul had never learned that.

Maul couldn't be sure that what Xizor had said was true, but it was definitely possible and even likely given Sidious's history. Maul scoffed. Sidious had never needed a superior apprentice to Maul himself. It was the old idiot's own refusal to take Maul back that started this whole mess. Maul might be missing his own organic legs, but his hands were entirely organic, so he could still summon force lightning. Perhaps Vader's persona-enhancing life support system was not something to be envied after all.

One other thing Maul grasped: Xizor was ultimately self-serving, and on Sidious's side because it was the safest bet, not out of genuine loyalty.

Maul released his grip on Xizor, who inhaled a long deep breath.

When the prince had two lung-fulls of air, he spat out with real anger, "Sidious said he wants to replace Vader but as Vader is all he has at the moment, he forbade me from pursuing action against him."

 _Hmm…_

Maul noted Xizor's tone. He wanted to avenge his kin as much as Maul did his own, but fear of Sidious was holding him in check. Assuming Xizor was head of Black Sun, Maul could guess something of the nature of Sidious and Xizor's alliance but he wanted to be sure.

"Tell me, Falleen, what hold does our dear emperor have on you?"

Maul squeezed again, just lightly enough for Xizor to feel pressure on his trachea.

"I knew the Sith controlled the CIS, and I knew that although the Republic had won, we ended up with a dictator whose right hand was Sith. The simplest explanation was that Palpatine was Darth Sidious, the war had been his excuse for grabbing power, and Vader was his apprentice." Maul was curious. He took a step forward, slightly tightening his grip on the prince's trachea.

"I already knew the Chancellor from my transport business. I told him that I knew about his identity when we were alone."

Maul stepped forward, tightening his grip.

"And he let you live?"

"A-ah-I promised hi—im that if he help me-take over Black Sun—ah-I'd be his minion…for life…control crime and—justice –in galaxy." Xizor closed his eyes and put a hand to his throat.

He'd just confirmed what Maul had suspected, so the Nightbrother released him.

"And yet the man you made the true underlord of Black Sun was not there for you when you needed him."

Maul thought of Sidious's treatment of him, his murder of his brother, Dathomir in flames; and then Maul said "It's not just a Dathomiri skyline that was filled with flames because of him."

By his comment, Maul had overreached himself, and Xizor shouted back in anger, "You think I don't care that my family is dead and my state are in ruins because of the apprentice he chose not to restrain? I don't have force abilities, but if I did, I, not Palpatine would have been Darth Plagueis's choice for an apprentice. Do you honestly think I like being subservient to anyone? Unfortunately, I have to live in the galaxy as it is and not as I would have it. So do you!"

The full impact of what Xizor had said would doubtlessly reach Maul in a moment, but as for now his entire attention hung on two words.

"You know of Darth Plagueis?"

"I've learned much about Sith lore. What's the harm of telling someone who can never use it when the only one who could is a constant disappointment? I'm twenty years older than Palpatine. The political maneuvers he learned in order to take over the galaxy are basic life skills for a Falleen noble. I still managed to outmaneuver every apprentice Sidious has ever had, including you, but I know my limits."

That should be not surprising given Xizor's age. Sidious had sent Maul to destroy the leadership of Black Sun prior to the Battle of Naboo. Xizor must have used the disorder within the organization to advance his own position within it.

Maul paused once more to reflect on the Falleen prince. Everything Maul knew about him confirmed Xizor was dangerous. The fact that he knew he had limits, only made him more dangerous. He clearly had ambitions that extended far beyond Falleen or even Black Sun, but still he could be manipulated.

"You are right that you do not have enough strength to take on Sidious, but there are ways of striking out that do not require strength, if you are as you say the one who should have been in his place."

Xizor drew himself up to a standing position. He smiled.

"You intrigue me, Zabrak. I'm interested in hearing your ideas. I don't bare your former master much ill will, but I do want to be rid of Vader, and Sidious is taking his sweet time. Given that Sidious has threatened me, I need some way to placate him, and a way to render him powerless…" Xizor stopped talking.

Maul could tell that something was going on in the prince's brain, but he could not identify exactly what.

Xizor looked at Maul again, "Sidious can't know you're on Falleen. There's an old path by the river," Xizor inclined his head and pointed, "about two kilometers from here. It leads to directly to the lower levels of Sizhran Keep. Come by night."

Maul knew that Xizor was keeping something from him, but for this alliance to work, Xizor had to believe he had some kind of legitimate stake in it.

Maul was tempted to force choke Xizor again, but instead simply said, "How do I know I can trust you, Your Highness?"

Xizor smiled nonchalantly.

"The same way I know I can trust you."

This being that had been begging Maul for mercy only moments before left exuding a sense of confidence. Xizor had been right of course. If had been force sensitive, he and not Sheev Palpatine, would have been Darth Sidious. If…


	4. Chapter 4

In the wide gap between the brown rocky walls was a two meter by two meter holoprojector. Xizor turned it on. It was one of the fortunate coincidences of space-time that the time zone of Xizor's principality here on Falleen generally matched Coruscanti Standard Time. It should be evening in Imperial City right now.

Xizor bowed low as a twelve meter high hologram of his patron, Darth Sidious appeared.

"Prince Xizor," Sidious said in his slow voice. "Congratulations to your succession are in order…what is the purpose of this contact?"

"Milord, an old enemy has followed me to Falleen. To save my life I had to let him believe I was amenable to his purposes, but…"

"Get on with it, Xizor!" Sidious bellowed. "Which rival Falleen noble threatened you and why is it my concern when are capable of dealing with it on your own?"

 _Arrogant young fool_ , Xizor thought, for he was older than his patron despite their respective appearances. He was tempted to show his indignity to the overconfident emperor, but he would not be the Underlord of Black Sun if he let his feelings get the better of him.

"Majesty, it's not one of my enemies that gives me concern. It's your former apprentice, Darth Maul," Xizor said.

Sidious's scowl gave way to a smile. Xizor knew from Sidious's general way of handling matters that he already was forming a plan to turn his wayward apprentice's return to the galactic stage to his own advantage.

"I thought he would be broken after Dathomir."

Outwardly, Xizor said with as much obeisance as he could muster, "We all thought that, milord. But he has only grown angrier and more determined for vengeance in the intervening years. He's wants to use my recent family tragedy to turn me against Your Majesty."

Inwardly Xizor thought, _You are supposed to be a Dark Lord of the Sith. You above all should know the power of anger…idiot. You leave too much to chance._

Xizor paused for a minute to separate his feelings about Sidious's inept control over Vader from his feelings toward Vader himself.

"He spoke quite truthfully about my anger toward Lord Vader, but then desperately suggested that I be a part of a plan to destroy you both." Xizor paused but then quickly added, "Your Majesty should never have any reason to doubt my loyalty as my own power and influence is directly dependent on yours, but…I had to say _something_ to placate Maul."

"Naturally," Sidious said, "And despite your sycophancy, I know that it is your fear of me and that alone that is keeping you loyal. You want Vader dead…I can feel it, but I also know that you fear to betray me…"

Sidious's visage changed again, from one smiling at a list of possibilities, to face determined on a particular course of action.

"Placate Maul, tell him what he wants to hear, and report to me what his own plans are. My traitor may be of use to me after all, and his actions could present a solution to our Vader dilemma."

That shocked Xizor.

"Milord, Maul hates you. He does not want to be your apprentice again. He wants you dead."

"My dear Prince, hatred is food and drink to the Sith. I have no intention of taking Maul back, but he could force Vader to rely on his deepest level of hatred and finally become the apprentice I wanted in the first place."

Xizor felt his heart drop. Vader had to die. Xizor had to subvert Sidious's scheme to serve his own ends.

"I shall report to you faithfully, Majesty."

"As always, Xizor, when my apprentices fail, I can count on you." Sidious smiled and ended the transmission.

Only Xizor and Sidious knew of this conversation. A simple iron door with a grid was all that stood between this room and the labyrinth beneath Sizhran Keep. It wasn't connected to the river path, so Maul couldn't hear them there. Only one other person knew what this room was used for, and Savan had no reason to be here at this time.

* * *

Savan however had been anxious to hear what her uncle had discussed with the leader of the galaxy. She retreated back into the labyrinth whose paths she had long ago memorized. When enough time had passed she would make her way back up to the keep proper. Now she focused on what she had heard.

So Palpatine still harbored hope for Vader to redeem himself in his eyes after all. That made Palpatine an enemy of House Sizhran. If Darth Maul were seeking revenge on his former master, it only made since to turn his objectives to their own purposes. He, after all, knew the emperor's abilities better than anyone. They would have to string the Zabrak along for a while, but the needed a Force-user on their side. Vader and Palpatine were two, while House Sizhran had none.

Savan paused. Several ideas hit her head at once.

The only thing she lacked was Force-ability.

She was the heir to House Sizhran and being subjected to some kind of forced marriage by her uncle.

Palpatine wouldn't need Vader if he had a new apprentice.

Her uncle would do anything to make sure that she was the dominant figure in her marriage.

House Sizhran must prevail.

If her husband were a castrated male whom she had to take DNA from, the other nobles would have to her as the source of legitimacy when she took the thrown.

She was tired of her uncle treating her as a pawn because she was female.

Savan quickly recovered from her bout of rapid-fire thinking, to seize these following things: she needed a Force-sensitive heir, an heir that could replace Vader as the emperor's apprentice and bring House Sizhran the imperial throne itself, DNA from an alien consort who would thwart her uncle's plans for her here and force House Sizhran to look to the outside galaxy for the future.

Savan threw her head back and softly laughed to herself. Events were unfolding in exactly the way she needed—she stopped herself.

 _No, things aren't quite the way you need them. You still want your family, and their all gone now, all but Uncle Xizor._

She had just now been feeling the hole in her heart with ambition instead of grief. She, had after all, just received information that fed her ambition. When the laser decimated the city, she was filled with fear and when the reports of her family's death came in…heay, suffocating sorrow. She had made it a point not to feel happy about her new place as heir until time had passed, but being brought up in the pleasure-centric culture of the Falleen aristocracy, she would not let herself feel sadness. She would feel anger instead. Anger could glut the senses as easily as any form of luxury. Now she had reason to connect her anger to her ambition, and avenge her family in the process. A Sizhran would be emperor! The only figures she needed to manipulate were her uncle and their soon-to-arrive Sith ally. Uncle would have to agree if he ever wanted to emerge from Palpatine's shadow. And Maul hated Palpatine for the loss of his own family. She had to find out all she could from her uncle about the Zabrak, to manipulate him. It would be easiest to obtain his DNA in his sleep without his knowledge, but surely he would want his blood on the throne of his mortal enemy if the option were made a reality for him…

* * *

The space between the stars was darkest blue, almost black. Maul took comfort in the shadows. He may have forsaken the title of Sith, but the darkness was still his home…and his ally. No one watched him on along the deserted path beside the river. The grass opposite bank had slowly, imperceptibly climbed higher as Maul progressed along the pathway. By now he had reached a small mountain, the grass finally giving way to solid rock at its base.

Maul could tell enough in the starlight to know that these stones were a light brown color in full light. He also saw an oval shaped stone about two meters high from under which a little brook flowed before joining the knee-deep river. Apart from jagged outcrops at its center, the stone in question looked just a little too perfectly oval shaped to be a natural formation. Maul jumped over the river at one of its narrowest points and proceeded to the stone.

Touching the stone above the outcrop, Maul found he could push it backward revealing an opening into a cobblestone corridor lit by lanterns.

He ducked beneath the outcrop, entered and used the Force to close the door behind him.

The sound of water running through a narrow hollow pathway reminded him that there was a spring hidden beneath the floor which he had seen join the river outside. This must have been a cave that the Falleen had built a passage into at one time. What mattered now was that Maul was in Xizor's keep. He would probably have to remain in the lower levels for some time. That did not bother him: as Maul had mused outside, the darkness was his home. However, he would not wait forever. If Xizor was the kind of being to have the audacity to knowing tell Darth Sidious that he knew his identity and manage to get rewarded for it, he had likely already weighed the risks and contacted Sidious about Maul's presence on Falleen. It was still likely that Vader had no idea Maul was here, so Maul need not worry about the Sith combining forces against him again. This time he had no Shadow Collective to pose a threat to Sidious himself, and if understood his old master as well as he thought, Sidious _would_ want him around long enough to pose a threat to Vader. So Maul's life was safe for the time being, but he needed to act fast and smart. He would have more clues to how to alter his plans and keep them off Sidious's intended path once he spoke directly to Xizor.

The path Maul followed took several snakelike twists and turns: forward, four rights, up cobblestone stairs, four lefts, up another set of stairs, four more rights, a third set, two more lefts, a final set, and forward to a bronze door. Maul opened it to see that it other side was the same color and texture as the lavender walls outside. There were three Falleen guards with force pikes. The central figure approached Maul and said, "Our prince is expecting you."

* * *

The throne room was large. It walls were a drab yellow as opposed to the lavender of the corridors, though the floor was still wooden. Xizor sat on a black iron throne at the center of a raised dais. Directly behind him was a massive map of the state of Ix, and next to him on his right was a female Falleen.

 _This must be his niece_ , Maul thought as he walked to the dais.

"Welcome to Falleen, Darth Maul," Xizor said.

At this point it would time for Maul to bow in respect, but Maul remained standing upright. He completely broke Falleen etiquette by responding angrily, "I am no longer a Sith! 'Darth' is not part of my name!"

Maul was prepared to rant at Xizor when he noticed something in the niece: she _loved_ his attitude toward the Sith. She was either unable to mask those feelings or unwilling, but Maul could tell her feelings were genuine.

Xizor, in contrast was much more reserved.

"My apologies, Maul. You said you wanted to dispose of the emperor and his apprentice. What ideas do you have?"

"Do not treat me like a fool, Xizor! I know that you have spoken with Sidious before I reached you. He knows of my presence on Falleen!"

Xizor nodded, but quickly added, "Better he think that I am using you as a tool against Vader, than as one against him. He is actually pleased by this development. Naturally, we will have to betray him eventually, but as for now I have bought us time."

Maul nodded. It was just as he suspected.

"I have developed a plan, but it will take time." Xizor paused, stared off into the distance and returned his eyes to Maul.

"Are you familiar with the Ysalamiri of the planet Myrkr?"

Maul knitted his eyebrows at Xizor.

"Anyone raised using Force abilities knows that some creatures have a natural resistance to them. The Ysalamiri are one of numerous such creatures."

Xizor smiled and rubbed the long fingers that were so common among Falleen together. "My dear, Maul, they can do more than resist the Force. The can literally create bubbles around themselves through which Force abilities cannot penetrate. The bubbles grow larger with more Ysalamiri. Get enough around Vader, and he'd be powerless—"

Maul could see Xizor's line of thought and quickly pointed out its glaring weakness.

"But then I would be powerless as well."

"Not if you had let me finish my sentence!" Xizor huffed at him. Maul could read the undisguised anger, the envy, that Xizor felt toward and against Force-users. "There is a procedure to inoculate yourself against the effects of an Ysalamir's force bubble. Sidious has already done it."

Maul allowed himself a small smile.

"Do you have an inoculation ready?"

"It will take time. I don't even have the Ysalmiri ready yet, but I can make all the necessary arrangements. Remember, defeating Vader is the first step toward defeating Sidious, and while I cannot help you that far, I must help you destroy Vader to avenge my family."

Xizor was speaking truthfully here. He wanted Vader gone, but as Sidious's vassal could only help to a point. The niece, though, Maul noted was primarily, interested in Maul himself. If she wanted what one might expect, Maul would be incapable of satisfying her, but he could tell that though her feelings had to do with lust, they were more about power than sex. It was the same emotion her uncle had toward Force users, but she was cloaking it under a different form.


	5. Chapter 5

Just checked Wookiepedia. "Twilight of the Apprentice," is three years before Episode IV rather than five, so this story being three years after Episode III actually would be fourteen years before "Twilight of the Apprentice."

"Idiot!" Xizor snarled at himself when Maul had left the throne room. Savan knew exactly how this was going to play out. She walked in front of the throne to observe her uncle's reactions as she spoke.

"It's not a total loss, _Eza-jumu_. The emperor wants Vader to win a confrontation with Maul; you promised Maul an inoculation against the ysalamiri, implying you would use them against Vader; you can give Maul the inoculation but still not use any against Vader. Whoever wins wins, and we live to plot another day."

The stern look of disappointment on Xizor's face dissipated, but an even sharper look of disapproval took its place.

"You listened to my conversation with the emperor."

"Enough to piece together that if we don't alter the emperor's plans, Vader will still be unpunished."

Xizor growled in anger, raised a fist, drew it back and struck the empty air.

Savan was puzzled by her uncle's reaction.

" _Eza-jumu?"_

"Palpatine," Xizor growled slowly. "If Maul could manage to win against Vader it would be in our interest, but we must assure His Imperial Excellency that we are firmly on his side." Xizor exhaled. "Tomorrow I will inform his majesty about our plan. Maul has as much chance of winning as Vader, if not better. For Vader to accomplish what Palpatine wants, his life needs to be in real jeopardy. With that condition as a prerequisite, the emperor can't fault us if Maul does win."

Calm now reigned supreme on Xizor's face.

"I know exactly what to say to the emperor tomorrow."

Savan stayed silent for a moment. She was thinking of a much more insidious way of neutralizing the Sith.

"I wonder though, what will happen if we are rid of both Vader and Palpatine."

Xizor looked at Savan warily.

"Without the emperor, the galaxy will be in chaos. Anyone could emerge on top."

"Do we have a plan for such a contingency?" Savan asked.

Xizor spoke now not as her prince or underlord, but as her kindly favorite uncle.

"Silly child, you know me better than that. I always have a plan."

That was not the voice Savan wanted to hear. She needed the Underlord of Black Sun, the Prince of House Sizhran. She hoped her uncle was not overestimating his abilities, because she was running a great risk with what she was planning. She couldn't let her uncle know her exact plan to impregnate herself with Maul's DNA yet. Her plans required that the emperor found out and regarded her child as an alternative to Vader. But the emperor could not see this as a power grab by House Sizhran which is what at the bottom, it ultimately was.

"Suppose we influence the emperor's choice of a new apprentice, assuming Maul deals with Vader, or that Vader survives but still clashes with his master?"

Xizor's interest piqued.

"Do you know of any Force-users we could persuade?"

Savan bowed and honestly answered, "Not yet."

"I shall have to keep an eye out for them. But Darth Sidious—and since you were present for both my conversations with Maul and the emperor, I assume you know who that is—he cannot learn of our involvement!"

That was the reaction Savan wanted. Xizor would be completely incredulous when she announced her plans to the emperor. The emperor would see clearly that her uncle had nothing to do with this plot. Now it was time to determine if the father of her child would be an ally or an enemy in her bid for power.

* * *

The room was lit only by torches, which suited Maul's purposes just fine. There was enough light for him to look at the millennia old wall paintings, displaying epic battles fought in the state of Ix's past.

All around were images of warriors who had either died, killed, or both to secure Ix's future. And as vindication, Ix was still here today, albeit somewhat disheveled. Maul's warriors on the other hand had failed at Dathomir. His clan of Nighbrothers, his mother's coven, practically obliterated. It angered Maul that these ancient Falleen had been successful where he himself had failed. That anger gave him energy and heightened his focus.

He had rebuilt a new lightsaber along his original dual-bladed design which he activated now. He closed his eyes and went to work bisecting imaginary ancient Falleen warriors, or thrusting his lightsaber through their breastbones.

It wasn't mindless bloodlust. Every scenario involved blocking and avoiding attacks from what his mind perceived as very real threats. He didn't let the distinction between reality and fantasy vanish completely. That was, after all, how he avoided slicing the face of a very real and contemporary Falleen noblewoman who had entered this room a few seconds before.

Maul opened his eyes.

"Mistress Sizhran," he said.

"I prefer 'Savan,'" she replied.

Maul deactivated his lightsaber. "It is unwise to approach a Nightbrother while he is training," he paused before adding, "Savan." He knew she was too interested in him for her own good, and since he needed her uncle at the moment, her own good meant his own good.

"You seemed to catch yourself in time," She said in reference to the lightsaber.

"And to continue in the same vein, I must catch you before you destroy everything your uncle and I are working for."

Savan struggled for a reply, but Maul spoke before she could respond.

"I noticed your thoughts dwelt on me during my talk with your uncle. You're intelligent enough to know that I can't please you physically, and I'm perceptive enough to know that this is really about power."

Then Savan surprised Maul.

"You're right," she conceded. "It's about power as in alliance building. We've both lost loved ones to the Sith." Maul could hear the real venom behind her next words. "Uncle Xizor may be content with disposing with Vader, but I want be satisfied until Darth Sidious himself is dethroned, both as emperor and as leader of the Sith. If it wasn't for his petty squabbling and inept control, Vader would never have set up a secret weapons facility here. All four of my grandparents, my parents, two aunts, and cousins would all still be alive." Then she looked Maul in the eye and asked, more as a form of confrontation than sympathy, "Who did Sidious take from you?"

Normally Maul would have Force-choked, electrocuted, or stabbed someone who had the audacity to ask him that, but there was something different about her, her strength of will, the similarity of her story to his own…if she could use the Force she'd make the perfect apprentice, but she couldn't. Still it wouldn't hurt to test his skills at bond building should he ever require an apprentice. Maul ventured to answer after all.

"Sidious took my mother, Talzin, my brother, Savage, and the man I loved as a father, Sidious himself!"

* * *

Savan stood staring at the red and black tattooed face in the dimly lit room. With his Zabrak horns and bald head, he looked so much like an _eda_ , a horned bald ogre out of Falleen folklore. His curious resemblance to a mythological creature notwithstanding, the main purpose of her studying his face was to get a clue to his emotions. One did not last long as a Falleen noble without being skilled in face reading and at keeping one's own face unreadable to others.

She could tell the ex-Sith was holding a lot back, but she could tell he was demonstrating a real bitter vindictiveness against his former master.

"You thought of Sidious as a father-figure?"

"I was only a child when he took me from Dathomir," Maul said, allowing some of his former loyalty to Sidious to resurface. "He wasn't just the one who taught me everything I know about the Force, he taught me how to read and write."

Savan was sure she heard appreciation in that sentence, but the next one was once again all anger.

"After I had survived my ordeal on Naboo, and became a power in the galaxy once again, instead of seeing my survival as the proof that his training methods were successful, he tossed me aside like trash in favor of the Jedi Count Dooku, whom he had not trained, a man whose apprentice I had killed. And Dooku only failed him in the end against Anakin Skywalker. The fool won't accept what he has fashioned into the Galaxy's deadliest weapon. He must not just pay, but understand how utterly wrong he was to betray me in the first place."

Savan was quite shocked to hear this. This was about family for Maul, but it was even more so than for her as he had once considered the man who was now his nemesis to be family.

Maul let the emotion drain from his face and abruptly said, "Now that I've shared this little bit of personal history with you, perhaps you'll reciprocate?"

Savan couldn't help but feel a bit of genuine romance for Maul. His story was that compelling. Romance, but not real love, and not even the romance showed on her face. She felt a twinge of remorse for what she was about to do him. It still felt more like something an author would to a character in a novel, than like something she would actually do to a fellow sentient being, but she had to admit it would still hurt her emotional toy if he ever found out. Quickly she turned her thoughts inward to the only thing that remotely came close to Maul's issues with Sidious in her own life.

"My grandfather," Savan said. "The previous prince. We didn't have anything as epic as the falling out you had with Sidious, but we drifted apart because our political views."

Savan could tell Maul was listening to hear. She couldn't tell much from his visage, only that he was listening.

"Grandfather believed that the commoners had certain basic rights. Unusual for a noble, he believed that the popular city councils should have some say on taxes, interstate policy, the like. Falleen nobles are a proud people and he was undermining the control that made us different from the peasants," Savan stopped as she noticed Maul's half-attempts to keep a straight face.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing, please continue. Just let me say that the ability to hold on to power and use it are the only things that make the relationship between superior and inferior relevant. Your assessment of your grandfather was correct on those grounds."

"Spoken like a true Sith. His greatness came from his blood!" Savan spat back

Maul shook his head and chuckled, "The only way genes can be useful is if they confer Force-ability, longevity, or overall good health. Sidious had wealthy ancestors, but not royalty, yet he is emperor of the galaxy. But I'm distracting you. What is this conflict you had with him?"

Savan definitely felt anger toward Maul, and was determined to knock the arrogant Nightbrother down a peg or two. She'd continue all right.

"I openly told my grandfather that he would be the ruin of House Sizhran and that I wished my uncle were the prince. Then I got my wish! Vader's lasers took care of my family. Only my uncle and I were left!" Savan immediately fell silent.

She had initially just wanted to reciprocate Maul's details about Sidious, and then when he'd insulted her definition of royalty, she'd wanted to outdo him. It just now hit her that everything she was saying about her grandfather was true. She had wished that he was out of the way after one of their many arguments. That's why her feelings had been so conflicted: she knew the state was better off in the hands of people like Uncle Xizor and herself, but she had really loved her grandfather, yet she had wished him to death.

She started to mouth the words, but it was Maul who spoke.

"Your great enemy isn't Vader, it's yourself."

Savan wanted to make sure she wasn't crying after her meltdown but there was no reflective surface in the room, and the hard Falleen scales had a notoriously weak sense of touch.

"If you can keep the intensity of that anger but channel it outward, it could be a form of strength, Savan," Maul said. "If you had Force-potential, I would strongly consider you fit to be my apprentice. But, while you can't do that, maybe we can still be allies."

Maybe she could win him over to her cause, but he had raised a point. Sidious was not royal. The hardline aristocrat mentality that she shared with her uncle meant that she wanted him gone. And Force-sensitive genes were important as Maul had said. Her plan had not been derailed after all. But for it to work she would have to betray Maul, who in light of this conversation she had grown to respect.


	6. Chapter 6

Maul had been an unofficial guest at the keep for nearly a month. During that time, Savan had been drawn closer and closer to him. His anger, his control, she loved him. She had been going over the idea of whether or not to tell him about her plan but always got the feeling that he'd be opposed. Still she had to do it, and soon. Yesterday Uncle Xizor had informed Maul that his order of Ysalamiri from Myrkr had been placed. That meant time was drawing near for the inevitable conflict between Maul and Vader. She had to act before then, as her love— _No_ , Savan thought to herself.

 _He's your tool nothing more._ She knew that was untrue.

 _Alright, he's a very close friend, but House Sizhran must come first._

It had to come first, for if Maul lost the battle with Vader, he would be gone. If he won, Uncle Xizor would then have to give Maul over to Sidious. Maul would find a way to escape and survive in that scenario, but he would not be able to return to Falleen as long as Uncle Xizor and Sidious lived.

 _This way at least a part of Maul—No!_ Savan stopped herself again. She was doing this so that a Sizhran could be emperor. It had nothing to do with her favorite Zabrak. The way she felt was absurd. Falleen were the ones who used their pheromones to attract members of the opposite sex to them. Maul should be the one pining over her, even if his testosterone was significantly lower than the average male.

In spite of everything however, she was the one who had fallen for him. And a part of him would be closer than ever to the imperial throne.

None of this mattered if she couldn't get a sample of his DNA, and to that end she now turned.

She walked down the corridors of the basement to the room where Maul usually trained, carrying two _dadzuke_ , straight medium length steel swords. These were designed for stabbing rather cutting but, they could leave nasty gashes which was all Savan needed.

She opened the door to Maul's training room to find the Nightbrother sitting cross legged on the floor.

"Savan," Maul said calmly, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Your duel with Vader approaches. You might find a living sparring partner worthwhile."

Maul glanced at his lightsaber.

"You don't want to play with these. You could hurt yourself."

Savan scoffed.

"You think I'd let use a lightsaber when I neither have one nor am skilled in the use of one." Her voice carried all the regal command that the Grand Duchess of Ix could muster. "No," she shook her head, "We'll fight with _these_." She held up the _dadzuke_. She tossed the one from her right, non-dominant hand, to Maul which he caught with uncanny reflexes while still sitting. He stood.

"To the first cut," she said.

"If you think you can manage it," Maul teased her abilities. He had the Force on his side but knew she possessed a great deal of skill as well.

Maul held sword vertically with both hands. Savan held hers horizontally with her left, letting it serve as both sword and shield.

After standing still for uncounted minutes, they approached one another.

Maul lunged forward, prompting Savan to duck by which time he turned, leaving Savan's back unprotected.

Savan realized her peril almost too late but kicked Maul's cybernetic leg at the knee joint. He was stalled just long enough for her to scrape her _dadzuke_ across his arm.

Maul paused and winced.

"The first cut was it?"

"I believe so." Savan smiled. _I've finally beaten you at something._

* * *

 _She has been a difficult one_ , Maul thought after Savan departed. He couldn't shake some romantic feelings for her. There was no way he could be certain it wasn't her Falleen pheromones. He was still a male after all, even if he were an incomplete one.

It would be easy to dismiss everything on that. But Maul knew there was more to it than that. He felt drawn to her when she was at her angriest, whether against her uncle whom she did not want to harm, or Sidious and Vader whom she did. Her mind was cunning, disciplined, and in every way the perfect complement to his own.

Maul _might_ , _MIGHT_ , he reminded himself, feel a little love for Savan, but the current situation was not favorable any full romantic relationship. Revenge against Sidious must come first. Once that was accompanied he could turn his attention to anything else.

Black Sun would still be influential in a post-Sith Galaxy. Xizor would still be a useful ally. Perhaps Maul could come back and have some form of nonsexual relationship with Savan if she were still interested in him.

But then again, he had begun to fall for her over their shared hatreds. With Sidious and especially Vader out of the way, would she still be interested in him?

Maul stopped himself.

 _What do you care if this Falleen princess likes you or not?_

Maul tried to persuade himself that he didn't. And he was right: he didn't care _much_. But there was still something about Savan that he _did_ care about.

He could live without Savan liking him, but he would prefer it if she did, and he could not come up with a single valid reason why he shouldn't prefer it.

 _Because you were right about her_.

If she were Force-sensitive, she would have made the perfect apprentice.

Maul found himself wishing so many things were different. If Savan were Force-sensitive, and if his physical situation were different, their offspring could surely rule the galaxy.

Then Maul remembered the words off his would be uncle-in-law: "Unfortunately, I have to live in the galaxy as it is and not as I would have it. So do you!"

What Maul was pretty sure he wanted could never happen, but it would still be hard to let go of Savan. However, he still planned to return to her once his vengeance was wrought.

* * *

Savan was able to convince her uncle that she needed time away from his and Maul's plotting and fortunately she had a friend in Falleen's unofficial capital, Little Coruscant, a modern city whose neutrality laws kept it beyond the princes' reach. Here there was a real spaceport and, more importantly for Savan, a fertility clinic.

It had been necessary to wear a hood over her head that cast long enough shadows to obscure her face. Maul, Sidious, and above all, Uncle Xizor, could not _why_ she was in this city. Xizor had remembered the friend she mentioned so he bought her cover story.

She wasn't the only one in the clinic to obscure her identity. This was Falleen, after all, where having poor sexual health could damage one's reputation.

Still, the presence of a cloaked figure among other cloaked figures incited agitation and unease within her. Much better indeed, to be behind closed doors.

She held a small vial in her left hand. It contained the bio-matter she'd swabbed off of her sword. There were plenty of Maul's skin and blood cells in there.

She felt a weight drop from her shoulders when the door in the waiting room slid open and a Falleen doctor called her number. She'd still keep her face obscured, though.

The doctor was all superficial smiles and pleasantries.

She sat on red cushioned chair with black framework across from the doctor. A sliver desk built into the computer system separated them.

"So, patient seventy-five, you've gone to a lot of trouble to keep your identity secret, how do you want me to address you."

" _Budzu_ - _jumu_ ," she said using the Falleen word for patient. Any other name would have been too aristocratic, the second person singular pronoun too intimate, and the highest honorific was how someone offering goods or services normally addressed any client regardless of either of their real social ranks.

"So how my I help _Budzu_ - _jumu_?"

Savan began to speak, but it surprised her how much she herself believed the lie she crafted.

"My lover is non-Falleen, but is from a compatible species. However, he has been injured in a way that prevents normal conception and," Savan hesitated as she was for the first time aware of the disconnect between her thought _I_ and her word "we," "we want a child."

Savan held the vial forward. "This contains some of his cells."

The doctor put on gloves, took the vial, and carefully turned it in his fingers. He inserted it into a slot in the computer and the machine began its analysis.

Savan was lost in thought for a moment.

 _Why is it bothering you that you are the only one who wants this child?_

She could put her feelings for Maul aside, but doing so for this child would be much more difficult. For all that she liked Maul, he was still an alien and a means to an end. Her new son or daughter would be her flesh and blood and the rightful heir of House Sizhran

She turned her gaze away from the wall and back to the desk, avoiding eye contact.

"The genome of these cells appears to mostly be Zabrak, who can crossbreed with Falleen," the doctor said absently, making Savan extremely agitated with him.

As repto-mammals, the Falleen were capable of crossbreeding with a wide array of both reptilian and mammalian species, provided they had the general humanoid body shape. This was something every Falleen knew since adolescence if not younger. What mattered here was summed up in Savan's next question, asked with all the politeness she could feign.

"Can the doctor extract enough genetic material from the cells I brought him?"

"Of course." He said in his slow, polite, droning voice. "It is only a matter of inducing meiosis to occur in these somatic cells, and the placing the halved nuclear DNA into Falleen reproductive cells."

Savan's patience was growing thin though she made no outward sign of discontent. Still time was important.

"Please forgive me if I sound impatient Doctor, but what method is mostly likely to ensure conception?"

If the doctor took any offense he did not show it.

"Why to extract, one of _Budzu_ - _jumu's_ egg cells, implant the halved DNA, and then insert it back into the body."

Savan knew that such a procedure would take about a day, fortunately that would still fit in the time her uncle believed her to be with her friend. She allowed herself a brief smile.

* * *

Maul awoke from a nightmare. Savan had been on Coruscant, inside the Imperial throne room. She had placed a box wrapped up in a bow before the emperor. When the Sith Lord had opened it, Maul saw his own head! He awoke panting. All he could do was lie on the ground level mattress and block pillow in his spartan "cell," motionless, apart from his heaving chest.

Was the dream a warning from the Force, or were his conflicted feelings about Savan intruding into his sleep?

Maul thought he had a plan that would allow him to cripple Sidious by destroying the only other Sith in the galaxy, one whom he knew Savan hated. Savan had no reason to betray him unless Sidious had finally found a way to dispose of Maul and Vader simultaneously.

He could always search for a new apprentice, and Xizor, who was organizing this project would not only secure the gratitude of Sidious, but also of whoever his new apprentice might be.

 _Xizor_ would do that, but Maul had specifically seen _Savan._

It all made sense to him now! But he had to be sure. It might be a long time before another opportunity like this presented itself again. He was going to get to the bottom of this!

Maul drew himself up, stood, and walked of out of his narrow room.

Soon enough he was on the main lower level of Sizhran Keep. A Falleen guard in blue robes was standing at the end of a corridor with divergent paths both sides. He bowed when he became aware of Maul's presence.

Maul walked toward and then behind the Falleen, took hold of his ponytail, lightly at first, and then like a vice. Maul's other hand pressed his unlit lightsaber against the Falleen's lower spine.

"Take me to Xizor. I don't care if you have to wake him up!"

The route to the prince's bedchamber was predictably wrought with twists and turns but soon Maul's Falleen guide led him to the correct room.

A draped canopy obscured Xizor from view, and Maul could only partially detect his presence.

"Wake him up!" Maul ordered his Falleen captive.

The captive nervously nodded. Maul released him and he walked over to the bedside. Dropping to his knees he said in an elevated tone but still within a whispered voice, "My Prince, you must awaken! There are urgent matters to attend to!"

Grunting came from behind the canopy, and then a slow moan as Xizor scraped the sleep from his eyes.

The prince drew the canopy open.

"What is it?"

He then noticed Maul near the door.

"Maul, why are you waking me at such a ridiculous hour?"

The guard started to leave as Maul advanced, but the Nightbrother ordered him, "Stay."

Fearing what would result if he defied the Nightbrother, the guard stayed.

Xizor had raised one of his pillows and was reclining his back against it. Maul leered over him.

"I had a dream tonight, and I do not know if it was a warning from the Force or not, but enough of the questions it raised, combined with how well I know my old master and how well I've come to know you, force me to ask, how do you plan to do it?"

"Do what?" Xizor asked incredulously.

"Dispose of Vader and myself at the same time!" Maul bellowed, igniting one end of his lightsaber.

The guard knew his duty even though he also knew its futility. He positioned himself between Xizor and Maul ready to receive the blow…which never came. Maul positioned the blade next to the guard's neck.

"Tell me exactly how you plan to betray me?"

Xizor yawned, and then, propping his elbow on a raised knee, said, "After you were to be given the Ysalamiri inoculation, we were going to kill all the Ysalamiri we imported, so that you and Vader would have equal chances of winning."

That much _could_ be believable, but..

"And what do you plan to do the victor?"

"Let them leave Falleen," Xizor said simply. Maul could detect no signs of deception from him, and much to his own surprise found genuine bewilderment.

"I warn you, if you are lying to me, Xizor," Maul finally decapitated the guard. Xizor barely blinked. "I'll kill Savan."

She was Xizor's only family and the moment Maul's only weakness. It made sense to threaten her, but for some reason, it wasn't exactly comfortable for Maul to make this threat. He was sure, however, that Savan would not hesitate were their roles reversed.

Xizor began begging.

"Please Maul, let's find some other way to work things out. We can keep the current scheme but find some way to ensure your victory that Sidious can't trace back to me. Please, don't threaten the future of my bloodline!"

After listening to Xizor beg for a few minutes, Maul deactivated his lightsaber.


	7. Chapter 7

A.N. My interpretation of the Falleen is that they lay eggs like most reptiles, but also produce milk like all mammals. I also think I like the pronunciation of Savan and Xizor's state as /iks/ rather than "ish". No one ever clearly said "X"="sh" at the end of a Falleen syllable. There is one only one chapter after this one.

Xizor bowed, knees, palms, and forehead to the ground before his massive holoprojector. This time his secret loathing for Sidious took a backseat to the genuine fear that Maul presented to his remaining. Sidious was the only one strong enough to remove Xizor's erstwhile ally, so it was time for the emperor to show some measure of control over at least one of his apprentices.

The massive hologram of the Sith Lord himself appeared. He must have noted Xizor's prostrate position as he said calmly, "Rise, my friend."

Xizor raised his upper torso to make eye-contact with his patron while keeping his knees firmly planted to the floor.

"Excellency, Maul has realized that we ultimately plan to betray him and has threatened my niece if I don't ensure his outright victory against Vader."

The holoprojector seemed to be frozen for a moment, but Xizor knew that Darth Sidious was actually deep in thought.

"The goal of this project was to force Lord Vader's inner anger out, which would require him being pushed to the limit. I would say do as Maul says for the time being."

Xizor gulped.

"And what if Maul wins and Your Highness is short an apprentice?"

"Then I shall seek a new apprentice."

Xizor kept his face vague. That was not what he was hoping to hear. He wanted some way to rid himself of the Sith apprentice and the ex-Sith both at once. He wanted some way to rid himself of Sidious too while he was at it. He had already enabled Xizor to take control of Black Sun, so his use to the prince was at an end, and Xizor held a grudge that his patron's ambivalence had cost him his family. However, there was no move he could make at the present. Sidious's strategy of doing little himself and letting enemies fight each other had won him the Clone Wars.

 _No,_ Xizor reminded himself. _He actively misled his apprentice Dooku as Darth Sidious and the Senate as Supreme Chancellor Palpatine._ It was his new persona, Emperor Palpatine, that had become the lazy carless one. He had counted one victory as final. However important creating the had been, it wasn't wise to believe it couldn't be toppled. Sadly, toppling the Empire was beyond Black Sun's reach at the moment. Xizor permitted himself a look of unease, then nodded.

Sidious noticed and asked, "What troubles you, my friend?"

Xizor could not tell if Sidious used the term "friend" to express a genuine feeling of kinship with a like mind, or if he were speaking as he would to Dooku or the Senate, but he also knew it didn't really matter. Sidious probably did have some kind of genuine friendship with Dooku, as he had spoken of his death to Xizor as "regrettable but necessary," and clearly still harbored hopes for Vader despite being read to lose him if it were unavoidable. Genuine friendship and manipulation amounted to the same thing as far as Sidious was concerned.

Returning to the emperor's question, Xizor said, "The uncertainty of this business with Maul and Vader. I lead a royal house, as Your Majesty leads the galaxy. Before, I could not avenge my family without risking your wrath, but now you ask that I help Maul. What should happen to me if Vader loses as you know I want him to? I fear Your Majesty's response."

Sidious smiled. "That, Xizor, is precisely why you are so valuable to me. You know you could never succeed in turning your treacherous mind against me, but you can use it against any of my enemies."

Xizor bowed, knowing he was safe for the time being—that was until the metal door lurched open.

"My uncle is not as effective a servant as you think, Your Highness!"

 _Savan?!_

Xizor jerked a knee up and spun around to face his niece.

"How dare you interrupt my private conversation with the emperor?!"

"To tell him something that you don't have any idea about, and which he may find very interesting."

 _What is she talking about?_ Whatever it was, she had no authority to speak directly to the emperor without going through him first.

"How dare you interrupt the Emperor and—"

"Xizor!" Sidious bellowed.

Xizor nodded his head and turned his eyes to face Darth Sidious.

"Majesty?"

"Shut up."

* * *

Savan dropped to her knees and bowed to the emperor.

"Milord, I have found a solution to the dilemma of your apprentice."

Xizor rose to his feet and shouted, "I bid you stay out of the emperor's affairs, Savan!"

Sidious immediately countermanded her uncle.

"And _I_ bid _you_ be silent!"

Savan felt the Sith Lord's gaze rest on her.

"Tell me your plan, child."

"I know that Vader has been too badly damaged to be the apprentice you want, and I know that Maul can never return to that position. But I have not let Maul's time here go to waste." She feared the next words, but necessity compelled her to speak. "I have impregnated myself with his DNA without his knowledge."

Xizor almost choked on his own saliva.

Darth Sidious saw things rather differently, as a thin smile appeared on his lips. Savan felt relief as the emperor spoke.

"Maul's line is clearly strong. Mother Talzin was a formidable opponent, and Maul's own survival of a bisection shows his own power. Perhaps he had even more raw Force potential than myself."

Savan felt as though victory was within her grasp when the emperor snatched it back.

"But Darth Vader once had the potential to be stronger than all of us. I still have not given up hope on him!" Sidious's words were harsh and callous toward Savan, but she detected a genuine a sense of parental affection when the Emperor spoke of Vader—no—of Vader as he had been—of Anakin Skywalker.

"My apprentice will not be replaced, but I must be prepared should he never regain his former abilities." Savan heard the emperor's tone change again, this time more favorably toward her.

"That is where your child comes in. It shall be my backup, in case Vader does finally fall."

Savan bowed. "Long live His Majesty!"

Sidious shifted his gaze back to Xizor. Savan watched the exchange.

"I could feel your anger this whole time! You obviously knew nothing about your niece's scheme, so I can't blame you for trying to get a relative to be my apprentice. Still my faith in you is compromised for other reasons. How can I trust you to rule the criminal underworld in the shadows of my Empire, when you cannot even rule your own keep on Falleen?"

Savan grew worried. Had she in fact cost her uncle his favored status with the emperor? He knew so many of the emperor's secrets, that if he were no longer useful he would have to be killed.

"You'll have to earn your way back into my favor. Get Maul off Falleen. My Inquisitors will take care of him. He must not know about this child!"

"Yes, my emperor, yes."

Sidious ended the transmission, leaving Xizor prostrate with palms and knees on the floor.

Savan immediately walked over to her uncle, put a hand on his shoulder, but he rose to his feet quickly and brought the back of his hand against Savan's mouth with great force.

She started to fall backward, but he harshly pulled her up.

"Oh, no, no, no. We mustn't let any harm befall you and that _thing_ in your womb."

Savan could not understand why her uncle was acting this way. She had given him everything he had wanted.

"Uncle," she started but Xizor would not let her finish.

"I'm no longer your uncle. After you have lain your egg, you will go back to work for Black Sun. You are no longer Grand Duchess of Ix."

This hurt Savan more than the hand to her mouth.

"But, I'm your niece!"

"So?" Xizor said coldly. "I have a score of bastards. As prince I can make anyone of them legitimate."

"But their mostly half-breeds! Like this ' _thing_!'" Savan pointed to her belly.

"Half-breeds yes, potential emperors, no!"

That confused Savan.

Xizor stared at his niece, anger and impatience combining on his face.

"This will probably end with Vader as emperor and your child as his apprentice! He will not identify with House Sizhran but our enemies."

Savan knew this much, but the child would have to know its origin from Sidious, who would be in both regular contact with both Vader and Xizor. House Sizhran did not have to be the child's only allegiance so long as it was one of them. She was about to remind her uncle of this when he said, "You have tried to decapitate us and give our head to Sidious. If you were Vader, and I were Sidious, you could no doubt make up your treachery. But you are not Vader, and I am far less forgiving than even the Dark Lord of the Sith."

* * *

Maul entered Xizor's throne room. Immediately the Force warned him to be wary. Detaching his lightsaber from his belt, he activated the upper blade. The prince was uncharacteristically wearing robes as thick as Ziton Moj's.

Xizor arched the scales around his eyes. Maul could not sense any emotion on the prince's part.

 _He's been expecting this!_

Maul then noticed two brown straps running down from Xizor's even more oversized than usual shoulder pads to a large black belt with multiple compartments. There was a slight gurgling noise and Xizor held out his hand. An Ysalamir head emerged from behind Xizor and licked the back of his slender hand.

"Our shipment hasn't come in yet, but I always keep one on hand for protection from would-be Force sensitive assassins."

Maul felt rage, but not for Xizor's treachery toward him.

"If you only have one you should have given it to Savan!"

Xizor smirked. "Do I detect feelings for my niece whom you were so eager to kill? You'll be happy to know she's off planet right now." The prince's tone shifted. "You really shouldn't have threatened her to get to me. I was on your side, willing to help with the destruction of a mutual enemy. Now your threats have made me your enemy!"

Maul then realized the true meaning of his dream. Savan had delivered his head to Sidious in revenge for what he was about to do. Without Force abilities he could and would run her uncle through with a lightsaber. He'd have killed Savan's uncle, and his dream told him that her quest for vengeance would be successful.

His collaboration with the Falleen was over, and he was the one who had sabotaged his own efforts. He couldn't enlist them against the Sith. Part of his mind yelled at him for pushing Savan away, but that was of secondary importance. He needed a new strategy to attack the Sith.

Maul stared into Xizor's eyes and deactivated his lightsaber.

Xizor looked surprised.

"You're not even going to fight me? You still have your lightsaber and skills in the martial arts."

"Your death would not advance my plans; it would only create an enemy I cannot defeat," Maul said.

"My nightmare: Savan gives my head to Darth Sidious. I kill you and she will want revenge, and she will succeed. I'm leaving Falleen. I can longer pursue this alliance."

Xizor smiled, cocked his head and said, "We could've gotten rid of Vader, perhaps even Sidious, but we'll never know now, and I suppose it's all your fault isn't it?"

Xizor pulled his billowing sleeve back to reveal a black object with a dart sticking out above his wrist.

"Coated in Ysalamir saliva, and containing Synox. Your victory wouldn't have been so sure, but you are right about one thing—you can never work with Black Sun or House Sizhran ever again, and whatever you might have felt for Savan, she now wants nothing to do with you."

Maul knew what his vision contained. In some way Savan was going to be his downfall.

"It would be best if I left."

"So it would seem."

* * *

Savan followed the red clad guards into the Imperial throne room. She had been on Coruscant many times, but had never met the emperor in person as Emperor Palpatine before, let alone Darth Sidious.

Though he had agreed to train the child as a potential replacement for Vader, she could not help but be feel a slight breeze against her spine.

The throne itself was at the top of a two layered blue-gray staircase.

Savan had barely stepped through the entrance, when the rotating throne made a semicircle and Sidious, "Welcome, Grand Duchess. I have important news to share with your uncle," then he abruptly addressed the guards: "Leave us."

Savan began speaking to the Sith Lord as she walked up the stairs.

"I'm no longer the Grand Duchess of House Sizhran. My uncle—"

"Will do as I tell him if he wants Lord Vader to make a certain public apology next month."

Sidious's words shocked Savan. The emperor was making his notoriously independent second-in-command humiliate himself before the galaxy?

"I do not understand," Savan began, "Why would you make Vader do this for my state?"

Sidious chuckled as he completed his 180 degree turn to look Savan directly in his eyes.

"Oh no, my dear. Vader is not doing this for your state. He's doing it for me. He may be emperor one day, and while your uncle is not indispensable, he is a useful tool. I would rather Vader be at peace with him and use his criminal connections for the good of the Empire."

Savan reached the last step and asked the other question triggered by Sidious's statements.

"Why would you take my side against my uncle's?

Sidious smiled and chuckled again.

"If I give Vader orders he's uncomfortable with, I must do the same with Xizor. He is an important figure in my empire, but I need to remind him that all of it, including Black Sun, Falleen, and House Sizhran is ultimately _mine._ "

Savan knew that no one was watching them, and knew that she carried too important a prize to be harmed at the moment. She spoke not as a fearful subject to her sovereign, nor as angered rebel, but in the reserved form of one dynast to another in a relationship of semi-equals.

"But that raises the question of what will Vader do to my child, his potential replacement?"

Sidious's look remained calm as he spoke. "I have another purpose in mind for your child." Now the emperor was speaking, not as sovereign to subject, but as an old man preparing for a future he would not live to see.

"One day I will be gone. Even the great Darth Plagueis could not escape mortality. If Vader is to be Sith Master he will need an apprentice. Darth Maul's bloodline is the second strongest I've ever encountered."

"Second strongest?"

"Vader almost became a parent once. If his offspring still lived he or she could become what Vader is no longer physically capable of being. That would be the only threat to your child's position and life."

Savan could hear traces of sadness in the emperor's voice. He wanted such a power to exist and rule the galaxy.

"Alas, that cannot be. Maul's power and your determination must make do."


	8. Epilogue

A.N. Just checked Wookiepedia. Episode III is actually 19 years before Episode IV. Since I want my OC to be roughly 17 when I thought Luke and Leia were 20 (now know that they were 19), this fic actually starts about two years after Episode III.

* * *

Sizhran Savazh considered his life to be a series of intricately connected contradictions. His great uncle, Xizor, underlord of Black Sun, called the Dark Prince by everyone who knew of his shadowy dealings, completely hated and detested him.

The irony was that Xizor had wanted someone of his own blood on the Imperial throne, and for years it looked like Savazh would be just that someone.

His mother meant him to be the replacement of Darth Vader, who had destroyed most of her family. Yet he was actively trained as a Sith Apprentice by Vader in clear defiance of Darth Bane's Rule of Two.

He was chosen by Darth Sidious to be next in line after Vader, yet he and Vader plotted Sidious's downfall many times.

He owed his force abilities and the Zabrak horns protruding from his otherwise Falleen head to his biological father, Darth Maul, whom he regarded as a traitor. Maul wasn't a traitor because he betrayed Sidious. It was quite the other way around. Sidious had betrayed Maul, murdered Savazh's grandmother and his namesake uncle. No, his father was a traitor for betraying the Sith. He should have let his justifiable anger fuel his vengeance against Sidious and Vader then take their place. But according to his mother, who was the only source of information he had on his father besides Sidious himself, Maul's goals were to end the Sith after his vengeance was complete. He did not care what arose in their place.

Well, Savazh would fulfill his father's original goals of being the greatest Sith Lord in history. Vader had allowed the boy to choose his own Sith name: Darth Shadow—inspired by a creature out of Falleen folklore called an "ogre shadow," _edabuwo_. Technically he shouldn't have had a Sith name yet: Sidious still lived and Vader was still an apprentice.

"Darth Shadow's" most complex relationships with people he knew were his dual relations was with his mother, the Grand Duchess Savan, and his master, Darth Vader. She had deliberately chosen to impregnate herself with Maul's DNA so that her son, House Sizhran's son, could be a Sith and get revenge on Vader for nearly destroying the State of Ix. Yet, by the same token, he would never have existed if Ix had never fallen. He had wanted to eventually kill Vader and prove himself more fit to rule and live, but Ix was a distant place on a distant planet, and not due to any personal hatred to the man helping him realize his potential. He had cared little for his mother's grudges, and less for his uncle's.

He realized that his own ambitions and outlook were more akin to that Zabrak father he had never met, at least as they had been while Maul was still Sidious's apprentice. It was now Shadow who wanted to be the greatest Sith in history. It was the youthful Darth Maul's outlook that most resembled Shadow's own. With the knowledge that his father had failed, so too, came the knowledge that the same thing could happen to him.

Still however, that was a remote possibility to the seventeen-year-old Shadow when the Empire turned twenty. Then Luke Skywalker happened. Suddenly Shadow's position fell into jeopardy.

If Anakin's Skywalker's son, who was supposed to have died in Padmé Amidala's womb, was still alive, there existed someone with greater force-potential than himself. His objective immediately became the opposite of his masters': kill Skywalker rather than turn him. They had always said they'd keep him around in case Skywalker couldn't be turned, but Shadow knew he was under threat. He twice engaged Skywalker in inconclusive lightsaber duels in the years between the Battle of Yavin and the Battle of Hoth; he'd used his uncle's criminal connections to try to assassinate Skywalker, only for Xizor to report him to Sidious, and his mother to once again be disinherited.

Shadow was ordered away from Skywalker during the months leading up to the Battle of Endor. He was prepared to go rogue like his father, Darth Maul, when the best news he'd ever heard was delivered. Skywalker had turned Vader back to the Light side of the Force. Now the redeemed Anakin Skywalker had killed Darth Sidious, fatally wounding himself in the process. The Skywalkers, father and son, were both Jedi, leaving Shadow as Sidious's only apprentice when he died. Sidious was now dead, meaning that the mantle of master had passed to Shadow! Now _he_ and he alone was the Dark Lord of the Sith.

Like so many other things in Darth Shadow's life, his victory was a moment of great paradox.

While his own position as the heir to the Sith legacy was stronger than ever, the Sith were weaker than ever. The Empire was out of Sith hands and the various Dark side adepts that Sidious had trained were at war with one another.

Shadow knew exactly where the fault lay: Darth Bane's rigid interpretation of the Rule of Two.

Two links were not strong enough to keep a chain from breaking. He understood why Bane had made the Rule harsher than it had previously been-there had at one time been so many Sith Lords competing for absolute power that they had virtually destroyed themselves. Now there were too few. To ensure his own legacy had the best chance of survival, Shadow knew that he needed more than one apprentice. But he would have to have some way of establishing order. The Sith would have to deny something that was in their very nature: their pursuit of personal power—in favor of the pursuit of the collective goals of their order.

It would take a long time to train as many apprentices as he thought would be necessary.

He first wanted to study how a Dark Side community—the two terms being oxymonoronic in late Sith thinking-worked. For that he needed to spend time on Dathomir. There were other clans of Nightsisters besides his grandmother's coven that were still active. First though, he had unfinished business to settle on Falleen.

* * *

He had convinced his uncle that the greatly changed state of affairs in the galaxy meant it was time to reevaluate their strained relations, so for the first time in his life, Shadow was on the world of his conception. As he the guards opened the doors to the throne room, he took notice of his uncle in the iron throne. Xizor was wearing an Ysalamir in harness. That would do him little good in a fight.

Xizor gestured to the guards, and they left the two relatives alone. He then fixed his gaze on his nephew.

"I'll not insult your intelligence by pretending to have had a change of heart toward you. Your mother made a reckless and impulsive decision that could have brought the emperor's wrath on me when she brought you into being, but—"

"No, she didn't," Shadow contradicted his uncle without any hesitation.

Frustration surfaced on the Dark Prince of Black Sun's face, but quickly dissipated. They both knew that Shadow's Force abilities gave him far more leeway with Xizor than any of the Black Sun Vigos, and Xizor's lack thereof gave Shadow a room to be disrespectful that did not exist with Sidious or Vader.

Returning to his uncle's comment, he said, "She made sure you wouldn't know so that Sidious wouldn't blame you. I was Vader's heir presumptive for years before Luke Skywalker destroyed the Death Star, and I was of your blood. I thought you wanted a Sizhran to be emperor?"

"You were no Sizhran. Your loyalty was to the Sith. Your apprentice would have succeeded you. One generation is not enough. What _I_ wanted was something permanent!" His uncle's tone shifted, "But the Sith are gone now. We are all you have."

"The Sith are not all gone. I'm still here."

Xizor laughed.

"You are only twenty! You're a child…"

"And Luke Skywalker was nineteen at the Battle of Yavin, with far less trainging than I had."

"Skywalker isn't Falleen."

"Nor am I, entirely," he rubbed one of his horns as he spoke. "But I have experience beyond my years in how the galaxy works. And my last physician assured me I will still have full Falleen lifespan to put what I know to use."

"An Imperial physician?"

"From a time when I was still being considered a viable alternative should Skywalker not be turned."

"So you won't let go of your Sith ambitions?"

"No, but I'm happy to use my obligations to House Sizhran as a means of furthering them, now that there is no emperor to offend."

"So I suppose you want your idiot mother restored to this backwater's line of succession?"

Shadow's blood boiled. He reached out a hand and clenched his fist.

Xizor began to choke as Shadow paced the room.

"You still insult her after I explain how she was trying to serve you and your ambition without you getting blamed?! You are an ingrate. What's even worse is that you are an ingrate with the highest skills of manipulation. That makes you too dangerous to let live."

Xizor gasped out a confused, "How?"

"Eventually Sidious decided to share his inoculation with Vader and myself. Your pet won't save you today."

Shadow ignored his uncle's gasps as he said, "It would have been easier to control Black Sun if you'd chosen to cooperate, but all it takes is strong-willed Force-sensitive individual to make them bend. My father and Darth Sidious got success that way."

* * *

Savan entered the throne room after being summoned by her son. The guards were already following his orders, though they did not know whether he or his mother was the current monarch. Two stood erect at each side of the door; two others behind the throne were Sizhran Savazh now sat with Xizor's Ysalamir in his lap.

Savan was proud of what her son had accomplished. Unlike her grandfather's death, she had no regrets about her uncle's. He had brought it on himself.

Her face beamed with pride as she said, "Congratulations are in order for your victory, Grand Duke."

"Not 'Grand Duke,'" he shook his head.

Savan began to worry. Had her son's obligations toward the Sith meant that he would forsake his place as heir to the principality? If so, Savan who was only sixty-one could still have more children to succeed her, but she'd prefer her successor to be Force-sensitive, and she had never quite gotten over Maul. His descendants should be royalty after everything he'd proved capable at.

"So you wish to abandon the State of Ix?" Savan asked.

"Abandon it?" Savazh placed the Ysalamir on the floor. "No."

He rose from the throne.

"Use it as a base? Yes."

"That would be easier if you were the prince."

He nodded.

"Exactly. 'Prince,' not 'Grand Duke.'"

Savan now realized what her son wanted.

"I'm not stepping down! I'm next in line. You'll have your turn and place after me…"

Savan felt her throat constrict. She cast a pleading gaze at her son and he released her.

Savan looked down for a moment and coughed.

"I need this state, mother, and while I love you, the Sith's purposes must come first. If you get in the way I'll no longer have any choice about what I must do."

His words were grim. She realized that the throne was permanently beyond her grasp as she was not willing to do what was necessary in order to remove him.

"What role would you have your princess dowager do, my son?"

"Run this state with full authority in my absence. I need to spend time on Dathomir, learn the ways in which the communities of the Nightsisters work. They hold the key to the Sith's future."

Savan saw her son tracing invisible lines on his green scaled face. "Sizhran Savazh is a mask. I need that mask, so I can't tattoo myself like a Nightbrother, but I but think that I should honor them in some way. How does black and white face paint mimicking a skull sound?"

 **The End**

I intend to bring Darth Shadow back as one of the (but not the only) main villains in my crossover story "Galaxies Collide," set about a hundred years after Episode VII. It would a Movie Crossovers/Comic Crossovers fic featuring many OCs from Star Wars, and both OCs and canon characters from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (not the Turtles themselves, they're long dead), Alien vs Predator, and canon characters from Generation-1/Beast-Wars Transformers.


End file.
